Terry Pierce - World Cup 2010 never caught fire

So after more than four weeks of football the World Cup ended last night and, like the majority of the tournament, the final was a bit of a let-down.

Underneath the thuggery of the Dutch and the gamesmanship and constant whining of the Spanish there was a half-decent game in there waiting to get out but, alas, we had to make do with Total Tactics as opposed to Total Football.

Theres no doubting the best side won, but it was their fourth 1-0 win in a row and they've won the greatest prize in football without being at their best due to the no-shows from half of footballs mega-stars.

In a World Cup that will be more remembered for the ball used than the football played, there were so many disappointing performances its hard to keep track, as shown by Thomas Meuller winning the Golden Boot and Diego Forlan the Golden Ball.

Lio Messi did nothing of note for Argentina as they flew through their easy group before crashing out to the young and hungry Germans. Wayne Rooney did more harm than good for England. Cristiano Ronaldo turned up against North Korea, but then so could I.

Franck Ribery, Kaka, the half-fit Didier Drogba. The list goes on.

Even the victorious Fernando Torres endured a torrid tournament, summed up perfectly in his cameo of bad touches and a hamstring strain last night.

Thanks to their new stars, Uruguay and Germany provided cracking sub-plots, and the Germans will be a real force over the next four years as their side develops.

And the quarter-finals were some of the most dramatic ever seen.

But a World Cup lacking in star quality and without England, Italy, France and Portugal in the quarters just didnt catch the imagination or provide Spain with any real test until the very latter parts of the tournament.

Spain didn't play their usual expansive style and will be the first to admit that at times they looked unconvincing but they didn't need to play exceptionally well to win and, without a shadow of a doubt, they deserved to win the tournament.

Its just a shame they didn't have a bit more fun along the way.

Role on the pre-season friendlies and August 7, when the real football starts.

Terry was born and bred in Wiltshire, and is a massive Swindon fan - travelling the length of the country most weekends to watch the 'mighty' Reds. He also manages a successful(ish) Sunday league side, and his life pretty much revolves around football. Five-year-old Terry was in the crowd when Swindon won promotion to the Premier League in 1993 with a 4-3 play-off win against Leicester. He cried after every goal. Read Terry's thoughts every week on life outside the Premier League. Follow Terry on Twitter @telpierce.